Could someone list some brand name short shifters for the MX-3?
i see that Corksport is selling a B&N for $117.00
What about short shifters from new Mazdas? Won't those work?
And how do you install it exactly? The stickshift isn't covered in Chiltons manual!
Short Shifter
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drkwing3
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short shifter
B&M shifter. great quality. Use bushings from SRD.
'94 GS, custom paint, Nex-o 15x7 rims, (got tired of the squeaking) mazdaspeed bushings, tokico-Zx2, ractive bars, khumo 712's ,xm,clarion,B&M shifter, Eibach,K&N, fx lip spoiler
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precidian
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Re: Short Shifter
B&M FTW.. I have one on my car and I am really happy with it.illapino wrote:Could someone list some brand name short shifters for the MX-3?
i see that Corksport is selling a B&N for $117.00
What about short shifters from new Mazdas? Won't those work?
And how do you install it exactly? The stickshift isn't covered in Chiltons manual!
Check the online shop manual on MX-3.com.. all instructions are there.
Tom S. - '94 MX-3 GS-X Sparkle Green
I say, Ahmed. What is that thing you do when you're about to assassinate an infidel?
I say, Ahmed. What is that thing you do when you're about to assassinate an infidel?
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PATDIESEL
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Corsksport sells all the short shifters forthe MX-3 that are made I think. There may be one or two more, but that it pretty much it. Some in MOCA like the B&M, but I prefer the PaceSetter adjusta-ball version myself. It lets you set the heigth of the shifter (the shortness of the throw). However, the shorter the throw the more force it takes to move the shifter. A bit of playing around with different heigths and I have a shorter throw than B&M without sacrificing too much in the amount of work it takes area.
Directions to change from a stock shifter to a short shifter:
Notes: (always read the notes first. They will help keep you from saying "AWE hell!! I really F-ed this up!".
You need to collect a few thigs before you start. A tube of White Lithium Grease (I prefer a tube for this job, as opposed to a spray since the spray has a better chance of making a mess inside the car). Some shifter kits come with a small tube of grease, but I like to know that I have plenty. You never know when it might come in handy for a squeeky brake or clutch pedal, windows that are slow to go down or up or sticky or stiff signal arms and plenty of other stuff. Some rubber gloves to keep the damn grease from getting everywhere. Some paper towels for the same reason. A pair of 14mm or slightly equivalent standard bolts and nuts (preferably stainless steel since it doesn't rust. A few pennies now will save you from alot of headache later). Some replacement shifter bushings from SRD or Mazda (they really clean-up the shifting and both are great parts for an old abused shifter). I prefer the Mazda ones (sorry Luke) b/c they have a tad more play and make dailey driving a tad easier. For the hardcore jobbers you might want some lock-tight for the exhasut bolts since there are alot of vibrations running through there and some copper gasket maker or a new exhaust gasket to replace the one that will most likely be dust by now. You may also want to consider a short shift boot since the stock ones were so high and the short shifters are so low the boot will look like a mess of loose vinyl. I just fold it down into the shift cup and think it looks ok. I don't know of anyone that sells a short shift boot, but one could be made easily enough. The whole job should take a good afternoon.
End of notes:
To get the shifter out you first have to remove the bolt that connects the shift lever to the tranny lever. In most cases (stock or stock-like set-up) the exhaust is in the way and must be unbolted and pryed out of the way to get to the shifter linkage bolt. Just behind (meaning at the a-- end, not sandwitched between the cat and unibody) the cataletic converter there are two bolts that you can remove. Careful, but these old exhasut bolts might very well break leaving you with a "what now" syndrome. If they do, no fear, you can drill the old stud out and replace it with a bolt and nut later. Not an easy job while laying on your back, but it can be done. With the cat unbolted you will then need to unhook some of the exhaust hangers from their rubber bushings so that the exhaust can swing out of the way. Then, you should be able to see and remove the shifter bolt. Underside done...
Now the top side (inside the car). In order to get to the shifter you remove the shift knob by turning it counter-clockwise. Then, we need to take the armrest piece off. It is held in place by six screws (if memory serves me) two at the outside edges where it attaches to the dash, two under the ash tray (the tricky, WTF is holding this thing on, ones that you cannot find) and two at the back edge between the seat and the armrest. You have to move the seat all the way forward to see the back two. If I remember correctly you have to lift the back of the center consol and then pull backward gently while prying gently on any part that seems stuck under the dash. In actuality you should remove the center of the dash first and then the center consol. However, it is alot more work to do so and I've done it the "easy way" several times with great success and without breaking anything.
Once the armrest is removed you can now see the shifter. The only real trick is that you have to take the top bushing off and remember which is the top and which is the bottom once they are both out. There is also a spring that is stuck in there with a wound wire that snaps into the top bushing and holds all the parts together with a bit of force from the spring.
Ok, so the order of parts as they come off is this:
Oh, this is time for the gloves and napkins... It is time to get dirty. Remove in order:
1. wound wire clip (wound as in it is twisted, not round mispelled or in a Asian accent) It helps sometimes to use two small flat-head screw drivers to pry the "wound wire" from its slot. Careful, the spring shoots out when the "wound wire" is released.
2. spring
3. top bushing
4. shifter lever
5. bottom bushing
Note: there is a rubber dust boot that is attached to either the shifter or the shifter cup (cannot remmber which) Do not break it or you'll need a new one to keep dirt out of the shifter assembly.
Now clean everything of old grease and grime (all parts and the shifter cup that it still attached to the car). Then replace the bottom bushing and grease it well with the white lithium grease. Next goes in the new shifter (grease the whole ball well). Next the top bushing with a layer of grease on the ball of the shifter side. Then the spring (no grease form here on). Lastly the "wound wire". It is a bit of a trick to get the spring compressed and the "wound wire" in on top of it. I've found this to be ALOT easier with four hands. Thankfully God blessed me with four arms and hands. I don't know WTF you are going to do.
Inside finished, for now.
Now back to the underside to button things up. First you need to install the new shifter bushings that you bought. SRD ones are tight tolerence and may need a tad of force to get to fully seat, but make sure they do or the shifter will not go over the shifter arm. Then bolt the arm back to the shifter. Now climb back inside and give the shifter a few throws to make sure everything moves well and you can access each gear smoothly. You may want to adjust the ball if you got the adjustable shifter and it is a bit loose or a bit tough to shift. Once you have it set yo uare ready to finish the job.
Here you may need to replace any broken exhaust studs by drilling the old ones out. Hook the exhaust back together (the hardcorers will want to use a new gasket). The rest of us will settle for a thin bead of copper gasket maker around the outside edge of the flange and rehook the hangers. Replace the center consol the opposite of how you took it out. Then screw on the s--- knob, OH! I mean the shift knob and enjoy.
Directions to change from a stock shifter to a short shifter:
Notes: (always read the notes first. They will help keep you from saying "AWE hell!! I really F-ed this up!".
You need to collect a few thigs before you start. A tube of White Lithium Grease (I prefer a tube for this job, as opposed to a spray since the spray has a better chance of making a mess inside the car). Some shifter kits come with a small tube of grease, but I like to know that I have plenty. You never know when it might come in handy for a squeeky brake or clutch pedal, windows that are slow to go down or up or sticky or stiff signal arms and plenty of other stuff. Some rubber gloves to keep the damn grease from getting everywhere. Some paper towels for the same reason. A pair of 14mm or slightly equivalent standard bolts and nuts (preferably stainless steel since it doesn't rust. A few pennies now will save you from alot of headache later). Some replacement shifter bushings from SRD or Mazda (they really clean-up the shifting and both are great parts for an old abused shifter). I prefer the Mazda ones (sorry Luke) b/c they have a tad more play and make dailey driving a tad easier. For the hardcore jobbers you might want some lock-tight for the exhasut bolts since there are alot of vibrations running through there and some copper gasket maker or a new exhaust gasket to replace the one that will most likely be dust by now. You may also want to consider a short shift boot since the stock ones were so high and the short shifters are so low the boot will look like a mess of loose vinyl. I just fold it down into the shift cup and think it looks ok. I don't know of anyone that sells a short shift boot, but one could be made easily enough. The whole job should take a good afternoon.
End of notes:
To get the shifter out you first have to remove the bolt that connects the shift lever to the tranny lever. In most cases (stock or stock-like set-up) the exhaust is in the way and must be unbolted and pryed out of the way to get to the shifter linkage bolt. Just behind (meaning at the a-- end, not sandwitched between the cat and unibody) the cataletic converter there are two bolts that you can remove. Careful, but these old exhasut bolts might very well break leaving you with a "what now" syndrome. If they do, no fear, you can drill the old stud out and replace it with a bolt and nut later. Not an easy job while laying on your back, but it can be done. With the cat unbolted you will then need to unhook some of the exhaust hangers from their rubber bushings so that the exhaust can swing out of the way. Then, you should be able to see and remove the shifter bolt. Underside done...
Now the top side (inside the car). In order to get to the shifter you remove the shift knob by turning it counter-clockwise. Then, we need to take the armrest piece off. It is held in place by six screws (if memory serves me) two at the outside edges where it attaches to the dash, two under the ash tray (the tricky, WTF is holding this thing on, ones that you cannot find) and two at the back edge between the seat and the armrest. You have to move the seat all the way forward to see the back two. If I remember correctly you have to lift the back of the center consol and then pull backward gently while prying gently on any part that seems stuck under the dash. In actuality you should remove the center of the dash first and then the center consol. However, it is alot more work to do so and I've done it the "easy way" several times with great success and without breaking anything.
Once the armrest is removed you can now see the shifter. The only real trick is that you have to take the top bushing off and remember which is the top and which is the bottom once they are both out. There is also a spring that is stuck in there with a wound wire that snaps into the top bushing and holds all the parts together with a bit of force from the spring.
Ok, so the order of parts as they come off is this:
Oh, this is time for the gloves and napkins... It is time to get dirty. Remove in order:
1. wound wire clip (wound as in it is twisted, not round mispelled or in a Asian accent) It helps sometimes to use two small flat-head screw drivers to pry the "wound wire" from its slot. Careful, the spring shoots out when the "wound wire" is released.
2. spring
3. top bushing
4. shifter lever
5. bottom bushing
Note: there is a rubber dust boot that is attached to either the shifter or the shifter cup (cannot remmber which) Do not break it or you'll need a new one to keep dirt out of the shifter assembly.
Now clean everything of old grease and grime (all parts and the shifter cup that it still attached to the car). Then replace the bottom bushing and grease it well with the white lithium grease. Next goes in the new shifter (grease the whole ball well). Next the top bushing with a layer of grease on the ball of the shifter side. Then the spring (no grease form here on). Lastly the "wound wire". It is a bit of a trick to get the spring compressed and the "wound wire" in on top of it. I've found this to be ALOT easier with four hands. Thankfully God blessed me with four arms and hands. I don't know WTF you are going to do.
Inside finished, for now.
Now back to the underside to button things up. First you need to install the new shifter bushings that you bought. SRD ones are tight tolerence and may need a tad of force to get to fully seat, but make sure they do or the shifter will not go over the shifter arm. Then bolt the arm back to the shifter. Now climb back inside and give the shifter a few throws to make sure everything moves well and you can access each gear smoothly. You may want to adjust the ball if you got the adjustable shifter and it is a bit loose or a bit tough to shift. Once you have it set yo uare ready to finish the job.
Here you may need to replace any broken exhaust studs by drilling the old ones out. Hook the exhaust back together (the hardcorers will want to use a new gasket). The rest of us will settle for a thin bead of copper gasket maker around the outside edge of the flange and rehook the hangers. Replace the center consol the opposite of how you took it out. Then screw on the s--- knob, OH! I mean the shift knob and enjoy.
ZE -strait neck,headers,2.5 exhaust,pheno spacers,lower cross member,GC coils,MS struts,Brembo slotted rotors,filled MS mounts,SS brake/clutch lines, CAI,to rear bat reloc,Hella headlamps,Hella DE fogs 180WHP
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jschrauwen
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